Your heart and your character are far more important to me than marks or medals.
You took big gouges out of my selfishness. I will always be thankful for you giving me the ability to see others past my own self.
Own your mistakes. All of them. Vulnerability is strength.
Ask for help when you need it. There is no shame in needing people. We all do.
Stare your pain in the face. Give it a voice. Tell it you are okay. And that you’re not alone.
Your dad and I are saving money for university, but you don’t have to use it for that if your dreams aren’t shaped like an educational institution.
Chase fulfillment, not happiness, for in that choice you will be pursuing friendship rather than things.
Find friends who let you be weird around them. They may not be popular or cool, but they are the best kind of people.
Connection with people is more valuable than busyness. Fight for your time in the margins so you have space to be with your people without an agenda.
Don’t look for a perfect spouse. Look for one who asks Jesus to breathe life into all of his imperfection. And has grace for yours.
Even if you rebel and decide you don’t need me for a time, you will always be my daughter. There will be a hug waiting for you when you come home.
How gentle and forgiving you are with your sisters brings so much peace to my heart. You will all be around long after your dad and I pass away, and I hope Christmas and family time together won’t disappear with our presence.
Go explore.
I want you and your sisters to go on vacations together without your parents. But also with us.
I yell more than I want. But your dad and I pray every night when we do that God will protect your heart and you would be secure in Love.
Know that when people are mean or angry or cruel, it probably isn’t about you. Everyone has their own stuff they’re fighting through.
I love your crazy and like you nearby. Even when you’re loud and weird. You’ll always belong at home.
I like TV best when you are huddled beside me.
I am amazed by your confidence, and how when you strike up conversations with strangers at the grocery store you always get a smile or laugh in return.
I wish I were like you when I was little.
You possess so much joy. I hope I am never responsible for containing it or silencing it even a little.
You may hear about glass ceilings and wage limits and sense the frustration of your female coworkers. I gave my own career a ceiling when I CHOSE to be home with you. Because earning your attachment with my time comes with infinitely greater dividends than a salary.
Real female strength is being intellectually and physically strong at the same time as being girly. Or muddy. Or both.
Take the time to listen to other people’s stories. Spend lots of time with people who have different opinions than you.
Have the courage to see injustice and the wisdom to know what to do about it.
Make friends with the person sitting all alone.
Hold yourself confidently in the crowd.
Make eye contact. Speak loud. Hug tight. Love strong.
I know you will change the world for the amount you have changed my heart.
Even if you don’t, I am proud of you forever. For who you are, not what you do.
I love you with a fierce, unrelinquishing love.
You are my daughter. For always.
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